Veritas
by iheartBL
Summary: Embarking on her journey as a Daily Planet intern, Chloe Sullivan finds herself in the path of Linda Lake and the ever so annoying billionaire, Oliver Queen, who happens to be back in town, seemingly trying to win back Lois's heart.
1. I: Girly Girl Butterflies

A/N: I know I have to finish Dance with me, but I found this fic I wrote awhile ago, and I was sort of inspired to continue writing it.

* * *

_Veritas: The Latin word for truth._

**Chapter I**: Girly Girl Butterflies

The stone building looked a bit rustic in her opinion, and timid amid all the sky scrapers of Metropolis. However, the sight before her, of the spinning golden globe emblazoned with the signature of her favorite newspaper, set her green eyes into a dream–like trance. At this very moment, she felt like all the girly girls at her high school, and it didn't make her sick in the least.

Her hands fell to the belt of her sand colored trench coat, ready to the tie the knot and head into her dream. This felt rather surreal. But just as she was about to do so, something, or rather someone, brushed passed her. Frowning, Chloe turned in the direction of the passerby, who had stopped, looking her way as well with an apology already situated on the edge of his tongue.

Chloe's eyes slightly widened. If the expensive suit wasn't already a dead giveaway, his chiseled features, height, and all around familiar face made the name label even more obvious. Why, he was Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Industries, and ex-boyfriend of her cousin, Lois Lane. Her lips transformed into a frown. She loathed him, flat out loathed him for breaking her cousin's heart. Of course, she'd barely met him, but the feeling was mutual.

His eyes squinted in her direction. "Do I know you?"

"Lois Lane?"

He twitched, running a hand uncomfortably through his hair. "Yikes!"

Yikes was right. No one crossed the wrath of Chloe Anne Sullivan and walked away a happy camper, no one.

"You're her cousin, aren't you?"

Duh! They had met once at a thanksgiving dinner, when he had left her mouth in "Wow". Of course, she was but a child then, only 16, and still crushing out on Clark Kent. Her eyes gave him a quick once over. Yup, he looked pretty much the same, albeit hotter, if that was possible.

He blinked, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his pants. "Well, tell Lois I said hi."

Hi? He wanted her to pass a greeting onto his ex? Seriously? Chloe just stared at him. Oliver Queen chuckled, a rumbling from the throat that she oddly found herself liking…Curse him!

"You are going to see her, aren't you?"

Chloe's eyes drifted towards the Daily Planet. Her dream, interrupted because of some stupid hotshot industrialist play-boy. Lois was in there. She was the one who got her the internship. How did Mr. Queen know? Was he keeping tabs on his ex? Did he do that for all his ex-girlfriends? Chloe shook her head, turning back around to face him. "What're you doing here?"

His smile faded. "Am I inclined to let you know?"

Of course he wasn't. They weren't even what she considered acquaintances. They were strangers, and she preferred to keep it that way. "No." And with that said, she spun her heels towards the spinning doors of the Daily Planet.

"Wait…"

Chloe stopped in her tracks. This better had been because she had dropped her wallet and he was kind enough to return it to her. In her opinion of him, he could use the Good Samaritan label. Maybe, just maybe, she'd like him a bit more.

"I'm here on business."

Chloe turned to face him, a not so pleasant smile upon her face. This was interruption number two. This guy really needed to stop with the impediments. "And here I thought it was for a vacation."

"Believe me, I could use one."

"I'm sure you have a private jet to whisk you off to wherever it is you desire whenever it is you desire."

"I do, but it doesn't work like that."

Chloe frowned.

"Just tell Lois I said hi."

She rolled her eyes, but for some reason found herself nodding. Why did she have to be so nice? "Bye, Mr. Queen."

"Good luck on your first day."

The petite blonde eyed the taller blonde for a brief moment. "How did you…"

"The excited yet butterflies in your tummy syndrome…It's written blatantly across your face. Hard to miss."

Chloe shook her head. He may have been right, but that gave him no right to read a complete stranger. She hadn't asked. Oh wait, she had…opps. Tightening the belt of her trench coat, she watched him disappear down the sidewalk before turning towards the spinning doors. She guessed she had to inform Lois about her ex.

xoxoxox

From the moment Chloe walked through the revolving doors, she couldn't wipe the grin off her face. The metaphorical butterflies were fluttering rampantly across her stomach, but Chloe figured it was more excitement and less nerves. The hustle and bustle was something to ogle at. There were smartly dressed people milling about, younger folks running after regular DP workers with coffees, mail, or pencils. Chloe was even able to avoid a collision with the mail cart.

She was sure the tapping of fingers against keyboards was something that would grow familiar. Of course, she couldn't wait until the day her own fingers flew across a computer that belonged to the greatest paper in the entire world. Chloe knew that wasn't an exaggeration. The Daily Planet was America's most trusted newspaper. It was read all around the world. The Gotham Post failed in comparison, even the Star City Registe0072 wasn't up to par, and the Inquisitor…Well, that wasn't even a legitimate comparison.

After getting situated, the Daily Planet press badge pinned proudly to her blazer, Chloe found her cousin with ease. Why, she was in the basement along with another intern, her heels abandoned as she lounged in a chair sucking a lollypop. So not the image she had in mind of a Daily Planet intern, but this girl was Lois Lane after all. Typical, ordinary, normal, those definitions just didn't fit.

"Chloe," Lois squealed, jumping up from her chair and practically flying towards the petite blonde. "You made it."

"Of course I did," Chloe stated with a smile as her eyes wandered over her tall cousin's appearance. Lois's ponytail was in disarray with strands sticking up here and there, her blouse was wrinkled, and there was a run in her stocking. The brunette gave off the appearance of a person who had been hard at work, running around all over the building. But if Chloe knew her cousin, and she knew her cousin, that just wasn't the case. "So what are you doing?"

"Organizing the files of the basement." Lois gestured towards the shelves upon shelves filled with dusty boxes and then towards the piles upon stacks of papers littering the floor. "The DP is going to back up everything on the computers, but the archives still have to be alphabetized." She leaned towards Chloe. "But I think it's because they just want us interns to have something to do, as if fetching around coffees all day isn't enough work."

Chloe giggled, her eyes drifting towards the other intern who was smiling in her direction with sympathy.

Lois followed her gaze. "Oh, that's…," Lois paused, scratching at her head. What was this guy's name again?

"Randal," he answered for her.

Oh right, he was Randal. How had she forgotten yet again? "Ask him anything, and he'll do it," she whispered.

"Nice to meet you," Chloe stated, sticking out her hand for him to shake. He shook it with a smile.

"She's the nicer one," Lois pointed out, placing her elbow upon Chloe's shoulder, who shrugged it off in an instant.

"You two related?"

Chloe didn't fail to notice Randal gulp or the fact that he was slowly backing away. Maybe Lois shouldn't have told him that they were in fact related by blood.

xoxoxox

By the time lunch rolled around, Chloe was grateful. Her stomach was growling, a fact Lois so graciously pointed out as they passed the DP's editor. How embarrassing. Chloe kept her head down the entire walk towards the elevator, and only when they were out of the building did she take the opportunity to smack Lois across the shoulder.

The girl fended her off, running ahead of her. Chloe had to say that she was impressed. Lois was fast on her feet, especially for a girl adorning 4 inch heels. Too bad Lois didn't coordinate her eyes like she did her feet, because the next thing Chloe knew, Lois was caught in a collision.

Her eyes blinked. All she could feel was hard flesh; perfectly sculpted beneath…flannel? Turning her eyes up, she met a creamy fix of blue…her favorite color. The girl swallowed.

The guy on the receiving end blushed; at least she supposed he would've given the scenario. Instead, his eyes narrowed. "Do you mind?"

"Maybe you should watch where you're going, buddy?" Lois stated, pushing away from the guy dressed in…plaid?

"Clark," Chloe said breathlessly, hands upon her knees as she caught her breath. Heels and running? This wasn't her cup of tea.

"Clark as in Clark Kent?" Lois asked, craning her neck in her cousin's direction. Okay, so Lois had to admit, with the way her cousin described this Clark guy, she had imagined a tall broad shouldered hottie, not a-well, awkward teen with a certain fetish for all things plaid. Her nose wrinkled.

Clark's lips thinned. He turned to Chloe. "Who is this?"

"My cousin, Lois Lane."

"This is Lois?"

Now, Lois was intrigued. So Chloe had told him about her as well. She wondered what the image he had conjured in his mind about her looked like. A curious smile invaded her lips as she turned back to Clark. "So…"

Clark, however, didn't bother paying attention. "She doesn't look like a juvenile delinquent."

"Juvenile delinquent?!"

Chloe blushed. Yup, this was going exactly the way she had imagined. "Think more army brat."

"I'm not an army brat anymore," Lois chastised. It was true, and Chloe could attest to that.

The blonde grabbed Lois by the sleeve, turning to Clark with an apologetic expression. "Look, Clark, I'll see you later. Lois and I have plans for lunch."

He genuinely looked torn, and for a brief moment, Lois couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. No wonder Chloe had liked him for so long. Then again, Chloe was her cousin, and since they had the same blood, Lois had dibs. So she waved off Clark Kent with a large grin as they headed off towards Tony's Pizza.

xoxoxox

The girls settled into a squeaky clean plastic booth, Lois not bothering to pick up a menu. She had it memorized by heart. The girl often came here for food, especially since she'd joined the big leagues, or Metropolis University.

"You told him I was an army brat?" the girl questioned, smacking down her cousin's menu with her hand.

Chloe frowned, then sighed, swiping her bangs to the side. "Not exactly," she confessed.

"Not exactly? Chloe what does that even mean? The guy thought I was a delinquent."

Okay, so Chloe had to giggle. "I just told him you liked to party, and at one point, had this major rebellious streak."

"Whatever," she stated in a disgruntled manner as Chloe once more began scanning the menu.

"Why do you even care?" Chloe asked, her eyes looking over from the top of the menu. "It's not as if you two hit it off…" Her eyes unintentionally traveled left, where she spotted an elderly fellow reading the paper, when it hit her. "Lois?"

"What, Chloe?" the girl snapped, putting down her hand, giving up for the moment on trying to attain a waiter's attention. "Yes, me and this Clark guy didn't hit it off…"

"No," the blonde sighed. "I just meant, I met…Oliver Queen, and he told me to tell you hi." Lois's expression hardened before her composure relaxed. If Chloe hadn't been staring, she wouldn't have even noticed the change.

"I know," Lois whispered, fiddling with the salt shaker. She looked up with a smile. "I do work at the Daily Planet, remember? I think someone's covering a story on his appearance in Metropolis."

Chloe reached for her cousin's hand, sending her a sympathetic smile.

"I'm fine," Lois added with a grin, and just to prove her point, she shot her hand in the air, snapping her fingers. "Yo, dude in the button down…"

Chloe sweat dropped, hiding her face behind her menu.


	2. II: A Snapshot of a Life Destroyer

**Chapter II**: Snapshot of a Life Destroyer

Chloe let out a huff, placing the polystyrene cup upon the desk. The guy behind it turned in his swivel chair, a phone positioned between his shoulder and ear, with a grateful smile, waving her off as she left. It had been a week since she'd started her internship, and already she had enough heel blisters to last her a lifetime. In honest answer, she thought, heading for the elevator, this wasn't how she presumed her internship would run. For one thing, she thought that at the very least, she would help chase down a lead. So far, she hadn't even been assigned to help a reporter. It looked as if she would be delivering coffees from here on out. This was doing wonders in her experience department, just wonders.

The elevator pinged before the door split apart, Chloe's head rising, and then her eyes widened. In the elevator stood a vibrantly dressed reporter, hollering at what Chloe was most certain was an intern.

"I said, decaf, Olsen!" The woman said in an icy voice, holding the polystyrene cup towards him. "Does this look like decaf to you?"

The boy shamefully shook his head.

"Fix it!" Her eyes sneered at him patronizingly before she flipped her blonde hair and stepped out of the lift with her nose in the air, never acknowledging Chloe.

The boy looked up, his cheeks burning when he caught sight of Chloe. Running his hand over his cropped hair, he tempted to smile in her direction, but failed miserably. Chloe sent him a sympathetic smile, her eyes drifting towards the stairs.

He opened his mouth… "She's scary."

Chloe's eyes turned back to him. "Who, Linda Lake?"

"Have you worked for her?"

Chloe shook her head. She knew who the woman was alright. Linda Lake, gossip columnist for the Daily Planet, the one section Chloe stayed away from, although her column drew in quite a sum of people. Too bad citizens didn't often realize that her column had a knack for destroying lives. "I'm new around here."

The boy smiled as Chloe stepped into the elevator, giving up her internal debate about whether or not to take the stairs. "Oh, well, in that case, welcome to the Daily Planet, I'm Henry James Olsen."

Chloe shook his hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Henry."

"Actually, I go by Jimmy."

"Oh."

xoxoxox

Frowning at the cup of coffee Lois had just placed before her, Chloe continued to tap her nails against the tabletop in an uninterested manner.

"What crawled up your cheerful hole and died?" Lois wondered aloud, pushing up the sleeves of her blouse.

Glancing up, frown still creased into her lips, Chloe said, "Oh nothing just met this boy…"

Lois squealed in delight, pulling up the spare chair towards the sole desk and ancient computer that resided in the archive room. "Do tell," she continued in joy, forgetting the reason she'd brought her cousin a cup of coffee.

"Not like that," Chloe waved her off. This was one cheerful mood she couldn't share in on. "The way that reporter was treating him…"

"Reporter!" Lois repeated, remembering her exact reason for the coffee treat. "Chlo, they finally assigned you to shadow someone."

Eyes brightening, Chloe turned interestingly towards her older cousin. "Really, who?"

"Linda Lake."

"Linda Lake?" she repeated as if she'd eaten something terribly unpleasant.

"Yeah," Lois continued, not latching onto Chloe's sudden bad mood, "they posted the list in the bullpen."

"No," the blonde groaned, "out of all the reporters, they assign me to the one I detest." Burying her head onto the desk, she continually shook her head. "Why is the universe against me?"

Patting her cousin's shoulders, Lois answered her rhetorical question. "No it's not, Chlo, and Linda's not so bad." She cringed as a mental picture of the blonde reporter popped into her head. Lois remembered having to fetch a coffee for that woman. She purposely, Lois was sure of it, dropped it and made her fetch another one. The brunette shuddered.

xoxoxox

Her next day of interning had left her with nothing more than a headache, and she hadn't even begun to shadow Linda Lake yet. Shaking her head, Chloe still couldn't believe that out of all the people who wrote for America's most trusted newspaper, she ended up with the one journalist she loathed.

Tossing her cup into the bin as she headed out of the revolving doors of the DP, Chloe welcomed the fresh sunny air. Besides, having lunch with her alien of a best friend was a great way to rid of this headache. Frowning, Chloe noticed that her aim hadn't allowed for the polystyrene cup to land where it was supposed to and was now rolling along the sidewalk. She watched the cup roll down the sidewalk in attempts to catch it and not have to run in the four inch pumps adorning her feet when the cup collided into a shiny black shoe. A male Italian leathered shoe to be exact.

Following the shoe up to the owner, Chloe's frown increased when she discovered who the shoe belonged too. There stood Mr. Queen, blinking in her direction before reaching down to pick up the cup she'd meant to recycle.

Shaking herself out of the stare, she marched up to the man. "Do you hang around the Daily Planet on a regular base?"

Chuckling charmingly, he tossed the cup into the bin flawlessly. "I think your projectile motion needs some work."

"Seriously, Queen, what are you doing here?"

"Tone down Mama bear, I just wanted to see if I could catch Lois."

"Lois doesn't wish to see you."

Raising a brow, he stared at her with a smirk. "And has your cousin told you that."

Chloe blinked. Okay, so Lois may have not uttered those exact words, but she'd seen her cousin's crumpled expression when Chloe mentioned him on her first day, and not wanting to see Mr. Oliver Queen was written under that broken gaze.

"I didn't think so," he stated as if that ended their conversation. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

Before Oliver could even take a step, he found Chloe's palm pressed flat against his chest. Was this petite eighteen year old really serious? "You can't possibly think…I'm twice your size."

"No," she said, continually shaking her head, "you can't just go in there like that. You're Oliver Queen."

"Exactly, CEO and celebrity of Queen Industries, I don't think the DP will mind. In fact, I think they'd welcome my presence."

"Glad your ego keeps you going. You'll send the Planet in an uproar. Every column is practically covering you already. You'll never make it out of the pit of interviews."

"Does Miss. Lane's cousin actually care about her cousin's ex?"

"Wipe that smirk off your face, billionaire, and lower the arrogance. My only instinct is protecting those dear to me."

It was then that Oliver smiled. "Point taken," he stated, giving a slight nod of the head before heading off.

And Chloe was left watching him go in astonishment.

xoxoxox

Realizing she was still staring in the direction Oliver had gone long after he'd disappeared, Chloe turned away. People must have thought she was crazy, or maybe they knew how much Daily Planet interns were required to run around on nonsense coffee runs that did little to help their future journalistic careers, not that she'd divulge that bit to the editor, surely she'd be fired, surely. Turning around, she nearly screamed when she saw Jimmy Olsen facing her with a smile.

Awkwardly walking forward, he ran a hand over his cropped hair. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he uttered, holding out his hand. "But you forgot your keychain down in the archives. Lois told me to bring it up to you."

"You know Lois?" she asked, deciding then and there that Jimmy just might have been a smidge more awkward than either Clark or Randal.

"Who doesn't know Lois? That girl is going places."

Chloe nearly snorted. And to think their family was positive that if any member was going to end up in jail, it was going to be Lois. Her moral compass wasn't exactly well rounded, and the way in which she accomplished things was questionable.

"Thanks," Chloe stated, folding her fingers over the cool metal of the Daily Planet Globe keychain Olsen had just dropped into her palm.

Jimmy smiled again, moving his foot around in an imaginary circle. "I know this great place for lunch if you're hungry."

"I am actually," Chloe smiled in return. "Lead the way."

xoxoxox

It turned out, however, that Jimmy's great place for lunch was Tony's Pizza, and although Chloe loved pizza, she didn't much feel like eating it two days in a row, so she offered to show Jimmy another great place for lunch. Unfortunately, Jimmy wasn't the greatest fan of Thai food, but bless his soul, he didn't say a word, and instead sat quietly as Chloe devoured most of their lunch, and he sat picking at most of his portion, wondering what exactly he was eating.

"I heard you're shadowing Lake," he spoke up finally, setting down his utensils and wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Harsh."

"I guess you would know," Chloe said, smiling sympathetically as she recalled her first encounter with Henry James Olsen.

He chuckled humorlessly. "She criticizes most of the pictures I take, calling them rubbish when I'm with her usual photographer. Technically, I'm not shadowing her, but she acts like it."

"You're a photographer?"

"The guy I shadow bought me my first Nikon," he added brightly, sounding the most animated she'd seen him, but to be fair, she barely knew him. "I hope to be a DP photographer."

"And I a DP journalist," she smiled. "I didn't peg you for a photographer though."

Chuckling, Jimmy said, "I'm an adventurous guy, Chloe. It's all about the thrill."

Chloe laughed, realizing she didn't mind this Olsen guy at all. Besides, he was kind of cute, in a boyish sense.


	3. III: Unwanted Invitations

A/N: I just wanted to make it clear that this is a Chlollie story. There might be bits of Clois, but nothing major. I hope the lack of clarity hasn't deterred people from reading it.

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**Chapter III**: Unwanted Invitations

Dreading work the next day, on account of who she had to meet, Chloe entered the Daily Planet at a sluggish pace. Hanging her coat in the archive room, Chloe could already hear Lois bossing around Randal.

"You're the future Linda Lake…"

Chloe giggled, she hadn't expected that Randal had it in him. Instead of walking out into a scene where Lois had pounced and killed fellow intern, she saw her high-fiving him.

"You've got chops, Frank."

"Randal."

"Right."

Chloe rolled her eyes. She suspected Lois forgot his name on purpose.

"Welcome, Sunshine," Lois greeted upon spotting her cousin.

Chloe didn't return the beaming smile. There was also that paper she had to write for English that was due next week to consider, and all Chloe had written was her name.

"Okay, so no sunshine." Walking up to her, Lois smiled. "Come on Chlo, Lake can't be that bad."

From his position on the floor, Randal shuddered.

"Shut up and alphabetize those stoically, Randal."

"The one time she remembers my name," the guy mumbled, turning his attention back to the stack of old newspapers in his hand.

"So maybe she can," Lois amended, rolling her eyes, "but it can't be as bad as being invited to a gala by your ex."

Brows furrowing, Chloe stared at her cousin in confusion until her encounter from Oliver the previous afternoon resurfaced. Anything having to do with that pretty boy, she blocked out. "So that's why he was heading over to the Planet."

"What?"

"Oliver Queen, he said he wanted to take you out to lunch." Chloe's eyes fell to the embossed card in Lois's hands.

"It was lying on the desk when I got here," Lois answered.

"You better pray Linda Lake doesn't get her greedy fingers on that invite, or you'll be her next piece," Chloe sighed. "I can see the headline now, Daily Planet Intern courted by Billionaire Playboy."

Lois rolled her eyes.

"You aren't actually thinking of going, are you, Lo?"

Lois twisted her fingers, biting down onto her lip. "I don't know. I mean maybe he wants to apologize for blowing me off."

"You mean breaking up with you through a text? Real high class for such an elite citizen. He has no guts, no courage."

"Chloe…" Lois paused. "I know you have your opinion on Oliver pretty much settled, but maybe he's come around."

This time, Chloe rolled her eyes. "I have to go see Lake, come see me when Lois flies back into town."

xoxoxox

Gulping as she entered Miss. Lake's office, Chloe found her lounging on the desk with her feet propped up as she twirled her hair around her finger and talked into the phone.

"Knock, first," she sneered upon sighting Chloe. Placing the phone back on its receiver without mumbling a goodbye, she stood from her chair and walked over to Chloe, circling her like a hawk before standing before her. Eyes scrutinizing the girl, she picked up a few tresses of hair before letting them fall back into place. "Hair's not too bad," she said through her assessment, as her beady eyes ran over Chloe. "Although the wardrobe needs work."

Blushing, Chloe glanced down at her simple white cotton dress in which she had worn a green cardigan over. In her defense, she had a bag full of laundry to do. If only those dorm laundry machines came with instruction manuals.

"On your first assignment," Linda began, walking over to her desk.

And here came the endless coffee runs.

"I would like you to make copies of this." Lake picked up the article that was placed upon her desk and practically thrust it in Chloe's hand. "Now!"

Feeling as if she had to bow out, Chloe quickly darted out of the room, heading towards the copy machine. It was only when she got to the water cooler that she stopped for a drink of water. Hopefully, Lake wasn't watching her take a break. After downing her cup of water, she glanced at the article in her hand: "Metropolis Meteors Player Talents Based off Performance Enhancing Drugs".

Chloe frowned, the title needed shortening, but it was probably a work in progress. Skimming through the article, Chloe found it to be based on Metropolis's baseball player, Mike Dawson, accused of using steroids. Where did Linda Lake find her information? There went another career down the drain. Sighing, she tossed the cup, which she had crumpled unknowingly, into the trash and walked over to the copy machine.

xoxoxox

Neck prickling as she recalled the scrutiny she was placed under by Linda Lake, Chloe plopped onto her dorm bed, startled when her roommate spoke up.

"Haven't seen you in awhile."

Chloe peered over at Lana, who was hunched over a pile of what she presumed to be Art History texts. "The Planet's keeping me busy."

"Too busy for your best friend?"

Sending her an apologetic smile, Chloe sat up, but Lana only waved it off with a smile. "Don't sweat it. I've been busy too."

"I had to fetch coffee three times," Chloe said kicking off her shoes, glad she could let her throbbing toes have a wiggle. "And make copies four times over because Linda Lake kept changing the title of her article. Tree killer."

"Hey, one day, you'll have your own intern to boss around, until then, this should cheer you up…" Lana put down her book, stood up, and walked over to her desk. Grabbing the envelope, she handed it over to Chloe. "This arrived in the mail, the guy told me to give it to you."

Peering at the envelope, Chloe gasped when she saw the familiar QI insignia. "The nerve of him!"

"You know Oliver Queen?" Lana asked raising a brow.

"No!" Chloe shook her head. She paused, and then glanced at Lana. "Well, he dated my cousin briefly in her first year of college at Star City University."

"I'm guessing it didn't go well."

Chloe didn't bother answering; Lana would figure it out from the look she was giving off anyhow.

"If it helps, I'm going too."

"Really?" the blonde's eyes brightened with intrigue. "You know Oliver Queen?"

Lana shook her head, running her fingers through her long locks of hair. "Not exactly. Lex invited me."

"Lex as in Lex Luthor? The guy who betrayed Clark."

Lana frowned, turning away. Clearly, the whole Clark issue was still a sore spot. Picking up her laptop, Chloe decided this was one drama she'd rather not deal with. She might as well start on that English assignment.

xoxoxox

Yawning as she entered the now familiar bustling environment of the Daily Planet, swarming with its aromatic scent of coffee and paper, Chloe was about to head to her usual destination when a fresh heading caught her eye. Grabbing the copy fresh off the printer, which was still warm to the touch, Chloe read aloud, "Star Baseball Player Dead." Included was a picture of Mike Dawson, the same sportsman Linda Lake had just written an article about the day before. Fishy…

"Unfortunate, isn't it?"

Literally shuddering, Chloe's head snapped in the direction of the eerie voice. Across from her stood a stoic Miss. Lake. Folding the paper, Chloe set it upon the closest desk. "It is."

"Must have been a drug overdose." Spinning on her heel, Linda's brown eyes lit up as a smile crawled onto her lips. "I think I'll get started on my next piece."

"On Mike Dawson?"

"Yes, Miss. Sullivan, Mike Dawson." Her smile ceased as she turned back to asses Chloe with her beady eyes. "Is that a problem?"

Chloe meant to shake her head. In fact, that was her intention. However, sometimes, her brain lost to her heart, and out slipped, "Can't you let him rest in peace?"

The look on Linda Lake's face caused Chloe to snap her eyes shut. Her body was mentally trembling. Why did this woman scare her?

"Are you questioning me?" her voice wasn't loud. It was sweet, eerily sweet…poisoned sugary sweet may have been more accurate.

"No, Ma'am."

"Then, fetch my coffee, Sullivan. That is as much as you'll be doing today. You can spend the rest of your day in the archives."

Once Miss. Lake left her peripheral vision, Chloe let out a sigh of relief. Compared to shadowing Linda Lake, alphabetizing the archives was heaven.

xoxoxox

"Well, if it isn't my Debbie downer," stated Lois with an ever plastered grin as she dropped a large box upon the desk filled to the top with stuffed manila folders. A small cloud of smoke erupted around her, causing her to sneeze.

Chloe let out a sigh, dropping her jacket onto the chair before seating herself atop it. Shoulders slumped, she turned to the brunette. "Did you hear about Mike Dawson?"

Smile fading, Lois nodded as she approached her cousin. "He was found, drowned in a fountain. I was shadowing the woman who was covering the story." Eyes darting around the room to see if anyone else was present, Lois turned back to Chloe once it was clear that it was just the two of them. Voice lowering, she said, "Although she's going with suicide, she doesn't really think it is. We're waiting for the coroner's report."

Drowning in a fountain didn't seem like a way one would take their own life, thought Chloe to herself. Maybe he slipped and fell. Or perhaps, it was murder. Chloe still found it eerily odd he would pass from the world the day after an accusing article was published about him. "Linda Lake is writing an article, stating it's an overdose."

"We're does that woman find this stuff?" Lois wondered aloud, hands placed at her hips. "Don't let her get you down, Chlo."

"I'm not," Chloe stated, shaking her head as she leaned back against the chair. "At the risk of heresy, I would rather be snorkeling for the rest of my life than destroy a man's career based on a rumor."

Lois nodded, lifting out a file from the dusty box at random. With a disgusted look coating her face she said, "I know. It was never confirmed that he was in fact using steroids."

Snorting, Chloe shook her head. "Well, in terms of Miss. Lake, it is true."


End file.
